APPLETON, Wis. — July 17, 2012 — Miller Electric Mfg. Co. is pleased to announce the winner of the FABTECH Arc Armor® Welding Protection Makeover is Pickwick Manufacturing Services of Cedar Rapids, IA. The company is the second industrial manufacturer to receive the complete welding protection makeover including innovative safety solutions from Miller. Included in this makeover transformation were the CoolBand™ and CoolBelt™ welding heat stress relief products, Powered Air Purifying Respirators (PAPR), Titanium 9400i welding helmets with integrated grinding shield, and WeldX™ jackets.

The Arc Armor team recently delivered the grand prize of $15,000 in welder premium protection solutions that will meet the demands of their welding operation, increase productivity and better protect Pickwick and its welders. The specialty fabricator has more than 150 employees on staff and serves manufacturers with custom fabrication of products, materials, and tools. Pickwick certified welding inspector Ryan Selken entered Pickwick in the Welder Protection Makeover at the Chicago FABTECH show.

“I signed up while visiting the Miller booth at FABTECH last year,” said Selken. “I knew it was a long shot but I wanted the best for our guys. I have a bunch of tough welders in the shop but they were like kids at Christmas when the new gear arrived.”

The arrival of the gear was a big change for this shop. Some of them had never used auto-darkening hoods before and were hesitant to try them. After one day of use Ken Miller was sold on the Titanium 9400 hood. “I’ve always been kind of old school, but I tried it, played with the settings and now I love it! I can tell my job times have actually gone down.” The CoolBand and CoolBelt were also hot items as this shop does a lot of high amp welding. “I can see it increasing our productivity,” Selken says. “Our welders are able to spend more time under the hood.”

The Arc Armor TIG and MIG gloves are “lasting way longer than my previous gloves,” said welder Carl Turner. “I use them every day and they are still going strong two months later.”

This wasn’t the first makeover by the Arc Armor team. In October of 2011, the team upgraded J.F. Ahern’s Pipe Fabrication shop with their entire line of personal protective equipment. Each of these welders was matched-up with the right welding operator protection specific for their application. The transformation of welding protection enhanced safety for the entire facility. A week after the delivery the pipe fabricator invited the Miller cameras in to the shop to document the makeover difference:

“The full makeover of Arc Armor welding protection gear transforms a shop,” says Bill Gardner, product manager, Miller. “A company is making a statement to its employees when it invests in welding safety gear. They are telling employees that they care about their protection. And with new advancements and technologies, these products not only improve welder safety and comfort, but also improve a welder’s performance and productivity throughout the day.”